Chris Sale's progress from a stress fracture has been slow and steady.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher suffered the injury to his rib cage ahead of spring training. Thankfully for the team and for Sale, his arm and shoulder were not impacted. However, Sale suffered a personal, non-COVID medical issue earlier this month that shut his throwing down temporarily.
Sale resumed throwing earlier this month and made the next step in his rehab Thursday when he threw a 15-pitch bullpen session in Fort Myers.
"That's the first step and now (we start to) build him up," manager Alex Cora told reporters prior to the Red Sox's game against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon.
It certainly will be interesting to see where Sale slides into the rotation, given how the starting pitching hasn't given the Red Sox too much grief this season.
Sale's timeline still is on track to return at some point in June.
